


And Your Innocence I Will Consume

by OceannanotOceania



Series: Dark!Neptune [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Hypnosis, M/M, Mind Control, dark!Neptune, triggers listed in each chapter's notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-02-26 10:30:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2648723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceannanotOceania/pseuds/OceannanotOceania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neptune is the newest addition to Team SSSN. Only Sun knows about Neptune's darkest secrets and desires. Or does he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck that summary sucks uhhhh. Oh yeah, so, shoutout to [freelancerkiwi](http://freelancerkiwi.tumblr.com/) for betaing this right before she goes on a road trip (hope it's fun man!). Also, this whole thing wouldn't exist were it not for chickenram's lovely Darksolar AU, you should go check it out [here.](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/tagged/darksolar)
> 
> So, I know that it seems weird to list specific chapters before the beginning of the chapter rather than listing them up in the description, but part of me feels like it's better to list out which triggers pertain to what chapters. Please let me know if you'd rather me list them up in the description though, I will gladly accommodate.
> 
> Triggers: Bloodplay, Cutting, Razors

“Neptune, can you help me with this?” Sun turns his notebook towards Neptune.

Neptune raises an eyebrow, grabbing Sun’s notebook. “Dude, this is easy. Hell, even Scarlet got it without getting help from Sage.”

“Hey!” Scarlet exclaims.

Neptune chuckles. Scarlet rolls their eyes, muttering a ‘dickhead’, before turning back to Sage. Like Sun and Neptune, the pair are sat on the floor, a flurry of notebooks and textbooks in front of them.

“Yeah, well, I don’t get it.” Sun says, a frown on his face.

Neptune smirks. “Sorry dude.” He looks back down at the notebook, scanning the hurried notes the Faunus had taken. His eyes flicker back up to Sun. “You know that I’m just messing with you, right?”

“Ye-Yeah,” Sun says, trying to conceal the small amount of hurt he felt.

Neptune briefly glances away from Sun. “Here,” The man slides the notebook back in front of Sun. “This is actually a lot easier than you’d think.”

Sun grabs the notebook as Neptune starts to explain the material. The Faunus takes notes in the margin of his notebook, his eyes trained on Neptune half the time.

“Oh.” Sun replies as Neptune’s explanation comes to a close. “I get why it was easy enough for Scarlet to understand.”

“Goddammit!” Scarlet exclaims.

Sun turns to Neptune, quietly giggling as he notices Neptune chuckling. Sage bites at his lip, eyes flickering to the pair as he lets out a snort.

~

“So, see you guys in a bit?” Scarlet asks, glancing over to Sun and Neptune.

Sun looks up from the notebook he was skimming through. “You guys are leaving already?”

“Uh, yeah.” Scarlet says. “We wanna get to the shop before there’s a huge flood of people. This is a pretty huge sale, so us leaving right now is probably cutting it close as it is.”

“I still don’t get why you guys care so much about what clothes this shop makes, but alright.” Neptune mumbles.

Scarlet rolls their eyes.

“We shouldn’t be gone for more than an hour or two, okay?” Sage says.

Sun nods. “Oh yeah, if you run into Coco or Velvet, tell them I said hi, okay?”

Sage nods, Scarlet chiming in with a small ‘yeah, sure’.

“Well, see you dickheads later.” Scarlet says, a small smirk on their face.

Neptune nods in response, Sun waving as the pair walk out of the dorm. Sun pauses a moment, eyes flickering over to Neptune before he goes back to reading his notes.

The pair remain silent, Sun getting more and more squirmy as time passes. Finally, when he can’t take it any longer, Sun gets up.

“I-I need to use the bathroom.”

Neptune nods. Sun frowns at Neptune’s continued silence before walking over to the bathroom.

Sun exits a few minutes later, slowly walking back into the front room. He raises an eyebrow, a small frown coming onto his face.

Where’s Neptune?

Sun looks around the main room. He hadn’t heard the man leave, so where-

Sun’s body stiffens when he feels a hand grab at his mouth, another grabbing the area above Sun’s right hip. He tries to turn his head, feeling another tug on his mouth as he does so. Sun feels breath ghost his right ear.

“Hello Sun.”

Sun’s eyes widen. Neptune, what are you-

“It’s been so long, hasn’t it?” Neptune continues. “Since we’ve had time alone.”

Sun looks down to the floor. Wait, this seems... familiar. Sun frowns. But, from when?

“Oh, right.” Neptune chuckles. “You wouldn’t remember. Yeah, I did that on purpose, didn’t I?”

Yeah, this is familiar, but-

“Oh Sun.” Neptune says. “I appreciate your efforts, but please, don’t strain yourself.”

Sun’s tail falls back towards the floor as Sun lets out a breath. He moves to shake his head, promptly getting his head tugged back.

“Now, let’s get to the main attraction, shall we?” Neptune says, letting out a small, dark chuckle. His voice deepens, his tone becoming strangely more light when he speaks again. “I’m gonna take my hand off your mouth, and you’re not gonna make a single noise, get it?”

Sun slowly nods his head, feeling himself relax back towards Neptune.

“Good.”

Neptune’s hand slowly falls away, and Sun feels himself let out a long sigh. The hand Neptune has on Sun’s hip tightens its grip, pulling the Faunus closer to Neptune. Sun jumps slightly when he feels Neptune’s body pressed up against his back, the Faunus’ tail lightly throbbing from being squished. Sun bites at his lip, trying to move his tail, but having no such luck.

Sun’s eyes widen when he feels something lightly pressing on the left side of his neck, just above his clavicle. He feels Neptune’s breath ghost his ear as lets out another chuckle.

“You know, it’s kinda surprising: the students here wield all sorts of elaborate weapons- all toting guns or blades of some sort- yet there are teachers who still worry about students smuggling small knives or razor blades.” Neptune says. “But, luckily, I didn’t have too much trouble getting this little guy in.”

Sun’s eyes flicker down, and he’s just able to see the small, gray razor blade that’s pressing into his skin. The Faunus flinches, biting his tongue as the blade presses deeper into his skin.

“I mean, sure, it can be somewhat intimidating to see these, but are they _really_ worse than the weapons that we carry around?” Neptune shakes his head. “Though, frankly, that doesn't matter now. I have what I want right in front of me, and I’m able to do exactly what I want.”

Neptune presses the blade even deeper into Sun’s skin, the Faunus biting back any sort of noise as he feels the small blade break his skin. Just barely, Sun can feel the blood that flows from his cut once Neptune lifts the blade off his neck.

Sun feels hot breath ghost near his neck, and his eyes flicker down to see Neptune’s head incredibly close to it. There’s a pause before he feels Neptune’s tongue on his neck, licking up the blood that flows down Sun’s tanned skin.

Sun feels a shiver run down his spine, letting out a small sigh as he feels Neptune's tongue brush the nerves along his skin.

Neptune lets out a small chuckle once the blood stops flowing from Sun’s wound. “It’s just as good as I thought it’d be.”

Sun is pulled out of his daze, glancing back down to Neptune.

“What?” Sun can’t help saying.

Neptune chuckles again, taking his head away from Sun’s neck. “You wouldn’t understand, little Faunus.”

Sun frowns at the name, looking over to Neptune-

Neptune grabs Sun’s cheek, jerking the Faunus’ head back forward. “Don’t ruin the moment for me.”

Neptune pauses, his grip on Sun’s hip wavering. “Still can’t decide if I should cut you again. What do you think, Sun?”

Sun bites at his lip, keeping his eyes trained on the opposite side of the room. He feels a flush start to crawl up his face and neck.

Neptune chuckles. “You liked it, didn’t you?”

Sun remains silent, biting harder at his lip.

Neptune lets out a long sigh. “You know, for something so fascinating, you can be awfully boring sometimes.” Neptune’s grip loosens on Sun’s hip. “Guess I’ll let you be for now.”

There’s a pause before Neptune says, “Now then, Sun, I have a couple of things I need you to do.” Neptune wraps his other arm around Sun’s waist, his breath ghosting Sun’s ear as he pulls the Faunus closer.

Sun’s body stiffens as Neptune’s hand brushes along Sun’s exposed abs.

“None of this happened. We were just hanging out, waiting for Sage and Scarlet to get back from fucking around at the clothes shop, got it?”

Sun nods. Neptune smirks, pressing his lips to Sun’s neck, in the space just below Sun’s jaw. Sun shivers, his head twitching away from Neptune.

Neptune pauses, a frown briefly on his face before his voice falls back into that eerie tone. “As for this cut of yours, I need you to hide it as discreetly as possible. Even if you don't remember how you got it, you need to keep it hidden, got it?”

Sun nods. The hand Neptune has on Sun’s hip brushes a finger along the waistband of Sun’s jeans, a small smirk on the man’s face.

“This all will happen once I snap my fingers, understood?”

Sun nods, eyes flickering down to the hand Neptune had on his hand. Neptune chuckles faintly, before pressing another light kiss to Sun’s neck. Sun jolts slightly at the touch.

“Good.”

The hands Neptune has on Sun’s body fall away. There’s a brief moment of silence shared between the pair before Sun hears Neptune snap.

Sun blinks rapidly, shaking his head. He turns around the room, an eyebrow slightly raised. What had he been doing, exactly?

He stops turning when he notices Neptune.

“Oh, dude,” Sun says. “I was looking for you, I think.”

Neptune chuckles, a hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry, I just needed a bit of a break.”

“Oh, yeah, I get that.” Sun pauses. “Wait, did Sage or Scarlet say when they were coming back?”

“Nope.” Neptune says bluntly.

“Huh.”

“You could always call if you’re that worried.”

“True.” Sun nods. “Though, I don’t remember where my Scroll is.”

Neptune groans.

~

Sun pauses in front of the bathroom mirror, the towel wrapped around his waist falling slightly as he leans forward.

Huh.

Sun continues to rub the cut on his neck, just above the clavicle. Sun isn’t sure when he had gotten this cut. While normally the Faunus wouldn’t care that much- he could be pretty clumsy at times, sometimes coating his arms and legs in a myriad of scratches- this scratch is in a fairly strange place.

Sun’s hand falls away from the cut, flinching when he realizes that he had scratched off some of the scab. He looks through the cabinet in front of him, letting out a sigh of relief when he sees a small roll of bandages and some gauze.

Sun pulls up his towel as he gets back up, placing the bandages and gauze on the counter. He grabs a pair of scissors from a small drawer to the left of him, cutting off a piece of the gauze. Sun places the gauze on top of his cut, snipping off a piece of the bandage to place on top of the cut.

Sun pauses a moment before throwing on his clothes. He looks back to the mirror, rearranging his shirt so that the bandage is covered up.

He flashes a small smile.

Good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neptune puts Sun in his place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So apologies to anyone who read the preview I had posted for this fic way back when, I haven't rlly changed this chapter much since then. :'D Right, so shoutout to my beta [freelancerkiwi](http://freelancerkiwi.tumblr.com/) for making this mess more coherent, and of course [chickenram](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/), whose [Darksolar AU](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/tagged/darksolar) is the only reason this fic exists tbh.
> 
> Triggers: Childhood bullying, Brands, Fire

_Neptune rubs at his eyes, letting out another sniffle. They were all so mean why were they all so mean-_

_“Hey Vasilias, you wimp, get your butt down here.” Carmine, an abnormally large boy with short, spiky red-black hair, says._

_Neptune shakes his head, tucking his head back in between his legs while he places a hand back on the branch he’s sitting._

_“If you don’t get down in the next couple of minutes, we’re going right up there with you.” Carmine snickers, the boys standing next to him joining in. “And you won’t like that-”_

_“Leave him alone!” An unfamiliar voice exclaims._

_Neptune takes his head out from between his legs, looking back down. His mouth falls open slightly when he notices a boy with bright blonde hair and a-_

_Neptune squints. Is that a tail?_

_“Oh, now this is interesting.” Carmine says, looking over to Neptune. “I knew you were a coward, Vasilias, but enough of one to get a Faunus to defend you? Now that’s pitiful.”_

_The Faunus growls before punching the boy in the face. Neptune’s eyes widen slightly, the boy moving forward as he continues to watch the scene in front of him begin to unfold._

_Carmine’s eyes are wide, his hand flying up to grasp at his nose as the cronies beside him continue to stare in shock at the blonde boy with the tail._

_The Faunus’ eyes flicker between the boys in front of him before he looks back to Carmine._

_“A lot worse is gonna happen if you hurt him again, got it?” The Faunus grits out._

_Carmine slowly nods his head, grip tight on his nose._

_Neptune squints. Oh, he’s bleeding, isn’t he?_

_The Faunus smirks. “Good. Now scram.”_

_Carmine looks over to one of his cronies, the crony pausing before he nods his head. The kids run off. Carmine is the last to leave, his eyes squinting as he looks up to Neptune before he goes to join his friends. The Faunus continues to watch the boys for a minute or so, letting out a small chuckle before looking over to Neptune._

_“It’s safe to come down now.” The Faunus says._

_“O-Oh, yeah.” Neptune pauses as he starts to move towards the trunk of the tree._

_Neptune gulps once he places a hand on the tree trunk, his eyes flickering down to the ground below him. How’d he get this high?_

_Neptune’s eyes are fixated on the ground below him, his body slowly beginning to shake._

_“Hey, are you okay?” The Faunus calls._

_Neptune bites his lip, feeling tears well up. He hesitantly looks over to the boy._

_“I can’t get down.”_

_The Faunus frowns. “Then how’d you get up there?”_

_“I-” Neptune starts. “I don’t know.”_

_The Faunus pauses a moment, seeming to assess Neptune before nodding his head. “Wait right there, okay? I’m gonna try and get you down.”_

_“No, y-you don’t have to-”_

_“Too late.” The Faunus chimes in as he starts to climb the tree._

_Neptune keeps looking at the Faunus, trying to keep his eyes away from the ground below. The boy can’t help letting out a huge sigh of relief once the Faunus shows up about a foot below Neptune, a smile on his face._

_“Here,” The boy turns slightly towards Neptune, his tail grasping at the branch Neptune is on._

_Neptune bites at his lip before slowly crawling onto the Faunus’ back. He wraps his arms around the Faunus’ neck, his feet wrapping around the boy’s waist._

_“Al-alright,” The Faunus says, his voice rough. Neptune’s eyes widen, his grip loosening on the Faunus’ neck. The boy looks back to Neptune, a small smile on his face. “Let’s go.”_

_Neptune keeps his eyes fixated on the back of the head in front of him, letting out a small breath with every step the Faunus takes._

_Neptune unwraps his legs from around the Faunus once the boy touches the ground. Neptune slowly gets off the boy. He backs away slightly, a hand flying up to scratch at the back of his head._

_“I, uh,” Neptune starts. “Thanks.”_

_“No prob.” The Faunus smiles again, and Neptune feels some strange emotion when he sees the boy’s expression. “Oh yeah, what’s your name?”_

_“Neptune, Neptune Vasilias.”_

_“I’m Sun,” The Faunus points at himself. “Sun Wukong.”_

_Neptune can’t help smiling at how Sun introduces himself._

_~_

_Neptune glances around the playground one last time, letting out a breath. Since a few days ago, Neptune hasn’t seen Sun around at all. The boy couldn’t help feeling disappointed; Sun seemed like someone who was really cool._

_Neptune shakes his head. He hears steps to his right, and can’t help freezing. He glances over, eyes widening when he sees **him**._

_The boy has a huge bandage on his nose, and lacks the cronies he typically has. Neptune can’t help cracking a small smirk, the smirk disappearing as soon as the boy squints, a frown appearing on his face._

_“Where’s the Faunus at, Vasilias?” Carmine asks._

_“I, I don’t know.” Neptune hesitantly says._

_Carmine smirks. “Works for me. I don’t have to see that freak around here.”_

_Neptune can’t help feeling something like anger at the words._

_“You know, he’s a person too,” Neptune says. Carmine looks over to him, an eyebrow raised. “I mean, yeah, he’s got the tail and stuff but, he’s a person too. You shouldn’t pick on him for that.”_

_Carmine smirks. “Oh, what’s this? That freak of yours help you learn courage, Vasilias?”_

_Neptune bites at his lip. He clenches a fist as he sees Carmine start to step forward._

_Before Neptune knows it, he’s thrown a punch at the boy’s face. Neptune’s eyes widen, his mouth falling open slightly as he clutches his bloodied fist. His eyes flicker over to Carmine, who’s grasping at his injured nose, blood seeping through his fingers._

_And, Neptune runs. He runs as fast as he can away from Carmine, ignoring when he calls out Neptune’s name._

_Neptune pants, stopping when he gets to the school building. He leans against the tan brick wall, slowly falling to the floor._

_He lets out a breath._

_Where’s Sun?_

_~_

_Neptune can’t help wondering why he hadn’t thought of this earlier. The boy stops walking when he approaches his teacher, a skinny woman with shoulder-length, dark blue-green hair._

_“M-Ms?”_

_Ms. Skobeloff glances down. “Oh, Neptune sweetie, what do you need?” The woman’s voice is nauseatingly sweet, and more than a little patronizing._

_“Do you know Sun, er, Sun Wukong?”_

_“The little Faunus boy, right?” She replies._

_Neptune nods. “Do you know where he went?”_

_“He moved to Mistral a few days ago, wh-” Ms. Skobeloff stops, understanding suddenly in her expression. She kneels down, coming to eye level with Neptune. “Was he your friend, Neptune?”_

_Neptune glances away from the teacher, slowly nodding his head. He feels Ms. Skobeloff place a hand on Neptune’s shoulder._

_“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Ms. Skobeloff says. “Unfortunately, some people aren’t meant to be in our lives for very long.”_

_“But, who knows. Maybe you’ll see him soon!”_

_Neptune looks back to the teacher. “Re-really?”_

_“Yup!”_

_Neptune feels a smile come onto his face._

\---

“Come on Sun, up and at ‘em,” A familiar voice mumbles.

Sun groans before he turns to the opposite side of his bed, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the light that floods the dorm room.

“I said,” The voice says harshly, their teeth gritting. Sun feels something grab his tail. “Get. Up.”

Sun’s eyes fly open when he feels his tail getting pulled, bolting straight up in the bed. He pants lightly, turning towards the voice. His eyes widen.

Neptune?

Neptune rolls his eyes. The man has a hand hiding behind his back. “Goddamn, Sun, do you understand how many times I had called your name before you actually got up?”

“Ne-Neptune?” Sun replies.

“Yes hi, glad to see you’re actually up.” Neptune says bluntly. “I finally get the thing I’ve been waiting so long to have, and you try and sleep through the one opportunity I have to use it.”

Neptune shakes his head, tutting once. “Luckily, I figured out how to get you up.”

Sun bites his lip, his eyes flickering back down to the hand Neptune has hidden. “S-So, what are you hiding?”

Neptune chuckles. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

The man pauses a moment before bringing up the arm that had been hidden, idly shaking the thing that he was holding.

Sun’s mouth falls open. I-Is that a-

“Is that a _brand_?” Sun asks, eyes wide.

Neptune smirks. “Glad to see that you’re as observant as ever.”

Neptune starts to turn slightly away from Sun, pausing when he notices Sun start to leap off the bed. Neptune slams his hand onto Sun’s chest, pushing Sun back towards the bed. Sun’s legs are spread slightly, his legs pressed against the bed, his back leaning back slightly, while his tail is squished up against the bed. The Faunus winces slightly as Neptune’s leg presses into the space between his legs, the man’s leg further flattening Sun’s tail. Neptune leans forward, his face stopping a few inches in front of Sun’s.

Neptune scowls. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Sun is panting lightly, his wide eyes flickering towards the front door.

Neptune pushes Sun’s chest, watching the Faunus fall back onto the bed. The man’s voice takes on an eerie tone as he says, “You’re gonna stay right there, understood?”

Sun lets out a breath, his body relaxing into the bed. He looks back up to Neptune, nodding once. Neptune smirks, backing away from the bed.

“Good.”

He turns away from Sun, facing what looks like some sort of pit. Sun’s eyes flicker to the brand in Neptune’s hand, his face falling.

Ne-Neptune really has-

“You know, technically, I probably have more opportunities than I think to do this,”

Sun looks over to Neptune.

“After all, Sage and Scarlet spend an awful amount of time together,” Neptune chuckles slightly. “I’m surprised I don’t hear a lot of rumors about them.”

Neptune looks over to Sun, a smirk on his face. “Then again, I’m surprised that I don’t hear anything about us, either.”

Sun’s eyes flicker over to the pit that Neptune has just dropped a match in. The pit lights up, the flames staying only about a foot above the pit. The flames are a strange color that seem simultaneously yellow, white, and blue.

“So, at first, I wanted to just find some wood to heat this baby up with,” Neptune starts, waving the brand. “But then I realized that I might not be able to control a normal fire. A few days after I had realized that, though, I had stumbled across something at the Dust shop near here.”

“It’s a special type of Dust that can hold a flame, but it won’t get out of control,” Neptune continues. “And, I overheard from a... source of mine, that it leaves some natural scars.” The man holds up the brand, rotating it as he looks the black metal over. “And of course, by natural, I don’t mean that it leaves a normal looking scar, I mean that it leaves a scar that takes no time to look like something that’s been on your body for years. Like a birthmark.”

Neptune smirks, looking over to Sun. Sun bites at his lip.

“It’s really expensive though, so it took me quite a while to save up for it,” Neptune says, glancing back down at the pit as he places the brand in there. “The brand was a lot easier. That source of mine was able to custom make it for me for fairly cheap.” Neptune shrugs. “Frankly, it’s probably because I’ve got quite a lot of beef on them.”

Neptune pauses, idly turning the brand over the chunks of Dust crystals. “But now, after all this time.”

He smirks, and Sun looks back down to the pit, seeing that what’s visible of the brand is already a whitish orange.

“Now I can do this.” Neptune flits across the room, grabbing one of Sun’s shoulders, and slamming him chest first into the bed.

Sun squirms under Neptune’s grip, his eyes wide. He tries to use his semblance, but feels too scared for it to work much, if at all.

“Shhh, relax.” Sun can feel Neptune’s weight on him, the man’s breath ghosting Sun’s ear. “This won’t take long.”

Sun shivers when Neptune presses his lips to the skin behind Sun’s ear before getting up off of Sun. Neptune places his free hand on Sun’s back, and lifts up Sun’s shirt. Sun lets out a shaky breath when Neptune’s surprisingly cold hands touch the Faunus’ bare skin.

There’s a pause before everything becomes pain.

Sun squeezes his eyes shut as the hot metal burns into his skin. He bites his tongue as he tries to hold back a scream, his teeth sinking in so deep that the Faunus swears he can taste blood in his mouth. Sun hears Neptune quietly chuckle as the brand sizzles against the Faunus’ skin.

It feels like an eternity before the brand is lifted off Sun’s back. Neptune caresses a still cold hand over where the brand had been.

“You did good.” Neptune mumbles, some strange tone in his voice.

Sun can’t help furrowing his brow as he hears Neptune walk away. The man places the brand on a desk, the metal making a faint _thud_ on the table.

Sun lets out a shaky breath, clenching and unclenching his fist as he avoids the impulse to touch his new wound. The Faunus hears Neptune walk back towards him, and Sun bites at his lip, keeping his eyes trained on the sheet in front of him.

“Now then, Sun,” Neptune’s voice takes on an eerily calm tone. “Turn towards me.”

Sun pauses, feeling his body relax, before he sits up and turns to Neptune. Sun scoots back far enough that his feet hand about half an inch off the ground, his tail faintly thumping against the sheets. Neptune’s eyes flicker down to the Faunus’ tail, and Sun subconsciously stops moving. Neptune flashes a small smirk, looking back up to Sun.

“You’re going to forget about all of this.” Neptune says. “As far as you’re concerned, we were just staying at home studying while Sage and Scarlet were screwing around with each other.” Neptune leans forwards, placing one hand besides Sun’s left leg, and holding the other hand a few inches in front of Sun’s face. “Got it?”

Sun nods. Neptune flashes a small smile, reaching out to cup Sun’s cheek.

“Good.” Neptune replies. “Now, this brand of yours isn’t a wound, okay? It’s a strange sort of marking that you’ve had since birth. Got it?”

Sun nods. Neptune rubs a thumb along Sun’s cheek, his eyes flickering away from Sun as he slowly nods.

“And, the most important thing,” Neptune starts. “I want this to serve as a reminder to you. I want you to think of me everytime you catch a glimpse of this.” Neptune pauses before mumbling, just faint enough for Sun to hear. “I want this to be a reminder of how you belong to me.”

Neptune shakes his head, raising its voice to a normal speaking level, and in that eerie tone of his. “Right. So, this all will happen when I snap my fingers.” Neptune takes his hand off Sun’s cheek, and holds his hand in front of Sun’s face. “Got it?”

Sun nods. Neptune smirks.

“Good.”

~

Sun lets out a faint hiss as he lifts up his shirt. He turns at a weird angle in front of the mirror so that he can get a better look at his back.

From the day he was born, Sun has had the strangest birthmark on his lower back, just above his right hip: a small, thick trident that had three prongs. When he was about 4 or 5, his mom had told him that these marks occasionally showed up on people, and that they were simply symbols of devotion to the kingdom where that person was born. For Sun, this birthmark serves a symbol of devotion to Vacuo and the few oases sporadically scattered throughout it.

But the meaning seems to have changed slightly in the past couple of days. Whenever Sun catches a glimpse of his birthmark, his mind wanders to Neptune, of all people. Sun shrugs. Maybe Neptune is just a reminder of all that he misses in Vacuo; he does end up feeling some strange sort of belonging when he thinks of Neptune.

Sun shakes his head. Of course, none of that matters now. Sun hesitantly brushes a hand over his birthmark, a shiver running down his spine. As soon as this mark had become associated with Neptune, the whole thing had become inflamed. Granted, it looks better than it had looked yesterday, but the whole mark is still fairly red and swollen.

Sun lets out a breath, shivering again when he puts his shirt back down. He pauses a moment before walking out of the bathroom. Maybe Sage has something that’d ease the swelling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you (somehow) didn't know by now, I have a [Tumblr](http://oceannanotoceania.tumblr.com/). Feel free to drop me a prompt or two, or headcanon jam with me! :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun gets punished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy, I was worried about pacing in some places but yeah, I hope this is good! :'D As always, shoutout to my beta [freelancerkiwi](http://freelancerkiwi.tumblr.com/) (I forgot to mention that she does writing on here, go [check it out](http://archiveofourown.org/users/freelancerkiwi/pseuds/FreelancerKiwi)). And of course, [chickenram](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/) for making the [Darksolar AU](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/tagged/darksolar) in the first place.
> 
> Triggers: Sensory Deprivation, Forced Blindedness(?)

“Sun?” Sage asks hesitantly.

Sun’s eyes flicker up to Sage. “Yeah?”

“You said that’s a birthmark, right?” Sage is looking down at the balm in his hand, idly twirling the container in his hand.

“Uh, yeah,” Sun raises an eyebrow. “Why?”

“It’s just,” Sage shakes his head. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Sun frowns. “You’re not hiding anything from me, aren’t you?”

Sage looks back over to Sun, his eyes widening. “Of course not. I, I was asking in Scarlet’s place. Neither of us had ever noticed your... birthmark before so,” Sage bites his lip. “Nevermind. Just, forget about it.”

Sun slowly nods, the frown still on his face. “Alright.”

The Faunus turns over on the bed the pair are sat on, lifting up his shirt slightly as he lays back on his stomach. He looks up to Sage.

“So, has the swelling gone down at all?” Sun asks.

“It’s looking a lot better, yeah.” Sage replies, something like relief in his voice. “I still want to put on a bit more of the balm, if you’re fine with that.”

Sun bites his lip, once again recalling how much that godforsaken stuff stings. “Y-Yeah. It’s fine.”

Sage nods, dipping one hand into the container and scooping out a small glob of the balm. “Can I put this on now?”

Sun nods. There’s a brief pause before Sage slowly starts to rub the balm around Sun’s birthmark.

Sun grabs at the pillow beneath him, biting at his lip as he starts to feel the stinging. God, a week of this shit and it still stings as much as the first day he had gone to Sage.

It feels like an eternity before Sage finally lifts up his hand.

“You can sit up now.” Sage says.

Sun lets out a breath as he sits up on the bed. He looks over to Sage. “Thanks, man.”

Sage nods. “It’s nothing-”

The door opens. Sun looks towards the front of the room, seeing Neptune and Scarlet standing there, a variety of plastic bags in their hands. There’s something like a frown on Neptune’s face as his eyes flicker over to the container in Sage’s hand.

“We’re back.” Scarlet says, exasperation in their voice.

Scarlet and Neptune start to head towards the small cabinet near the dorm bathroom. After a moment, Sage and Sun get up, wandering over to join their other teammates.

Sage glances over to Neptune for a moment before looking back to Sun. “Don’t worry about this, you guys. I can help out Scarlet.”

Neptune nods, looking back over to Sun. “Thanks man.”

Sage nods, walking closer to Scarlet. Neptune walks over to Sun, his hand brushing Sun’s as he walks back towards the main part of the dorm. Sun’s eyes flicker down towards his hand, pausing before he shakes his head. He walks back to the living room.

Neptune takes a seat on his bed, Sun going to sit on his own.

“So,” Neptune starts. “What were you and Sage doing while we were out?”

“Not much,” Sun replies. “Mostly homework.”

Neptune slowly nods. “What was that stuff that Sage had on his hand?”

“Oh, it was just,” Sun pauses, suddenly feeling hesitant about answering Neptune’s question.

“It was just...?” Neptune repeats Sun’s words.

“My, my birthmark has been really swollen over the past week, so, Sage is helping with that.” Sun says, voice strained.

Neptune slowly nods. “Alright then.” He pauses, leaning over to grab a textbook from under his bed. “So, what were you and Sage working on?”

“Oh, Grimm studies.”

Neptune looks down at his textbook.

“Wrong one.” He mumbles.

The man leans over, grabbing a different, much thicker textbook, and placing it in his lap. He looks back up to Sun.

“So, did you and Sage finish this homework?” Neptune asks.

“No.”

“Do you need help?”

“Actually,” Sun glances down at the textbook in Neptune’s lap. “Yeah. Yeah I do.”

Sun pauses, grimacing slightly as the balm on his birthmark starts to sting again. “I just need to go to the bathroom real quick.”

Sun pauses a moment before leaving Neptune on his own, and heading towards the bathroom. He pauses at the end of the hallway between the bathroom and the small cabinet. Both Sage and Scarlet are still there, in the midst of talking. Sage has concern in his face, Scarlet's own expression betraying their confusion over what Sage is telling him.

"The strangest thing is, you know how I've been giving that balm to Sun?"

Scarlet nods.

"It's meant to soothe burns."

Sun frowns at the word, glancing towards the floor.

Burns?

Sun's eyes widen. He feels something edging at the back of his mind, desperately trying to come to the forefront of his brain. Sun bites at his lip as he focuses on that thing, and...

No such luck.

Sun lets out a breath. He couldn't help thinking that he's missing something important, though he can't understand what it would be.

Sun shakes his head, actually heading into the bathroom.

When Sun comes back into the main room he’s greeted by the sight of Neptune lying back in bed, the heavy Grimm Studies textbook propped against his legs that were tucked in close to his body. Neptune’s eyes flicker over to Sun. The man slowly closes his textbook before sitting up.

“Took you long enough.”

“S-sorry,” Sun says. “I got a bit... distracted.”

Neptune slowly nods, an eyebrow raised. “Right. So, you still want help with the homework, right?”

Sun nods. “Yeah, sorry.”

~

Sun isn’t sure why it’s happening, but about a week after Scarlet and Neptune had barged in on him and Sage, Sun couldn’t find it in him to stay around Neptune for very long. Whenever he’s with Neptune for more than a few minutes, the Faunus can feel a shiver go down on his spine, and his birthmark faintly start to burn. While for most, something like that would matter very little, if at all, to them, Sun feels the complete opposite. So, it’s of no surprise that Sun takes every opportunity he can get to be away from Neptune outside of classes.

But, of course, he can’t always get what he wants, can he?

“I’m sorry Sun, but,” Sage briefly glances over to Scarlet. “Me and Scarlet wanted to be on our own for a bit.”

Sun bites at his lip. “Yeah. Yeah, I get it.”

Sage frowns. His eyes wander over to Neptune, who’s in the middle of reading some book he had picked up at random from the library. “Sun, I feel bad, I really do-”

“Sage, please, don’t worry about it.” Sun keeps his eyes trained on Sage. “I’ll be fine.”

Sage lets out a breath. “Alright. Well, we’ll see you guys later.”

Neptune nods half-heartedly, his eyes still on the book in front of him. Sun gives Sage and Scarlet a small wave, a small smile appearing on the pair’s faces before they head out.

Sun flops onto his bed, letting out a small sigh. He turns on the bed to face Neptune, biting his lip before he looks away from Neptune. Sun’s hand wanders down to his birthmark, lightly touching the skin that burns dully.

Neptune places the open book facedown in his lap. “You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you, Sun?”

Sun looks over to Neptune, eyes widening slightly. “What do you mean?”

Neptune rolls his eyes. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about, Sun.” He glances down at the book in his lap. He picks it up before dropping it to the floor. Neptune sits up in bed, and turns to Sun. “So, tell me the truth: why are you avoiding me?”

“I-” Sun winces slightly as his skin begins to burn more intensely than earlier. “I just, I just feel... off around you.”

Neptune raises an eyebrow. He pauses a moment before... laughing, of all things.

Sun’s eyes widen slightly, his eyes flickering back up to Neptune.

“You know what?” Neptune says. “I don’t even care. I don’t care why you’ve been avoiding me. Because, in the end, all that matters to me is one thing:”

Neptune gets up off the bed, heading over to Sun. Sun can’t help scooting back on his bed, only stopping when his back hits the wall behind him with a faint _thud_. Neptune stops just at the edge of Sun’s bed, a smirk on his face as he leans forward, his face stopping about a foot in front of Sun’s own.

“You deserve to be punished.”

Sun feels his blood run cold as Neptune starts to chuckle, voice deep. The ghost of a smirk remains on Neptune’s face when he stops chuckling, his eyes flickering down to the hand he had in a pocket. Sun looks down to Neptune’s hand.

“You’re wondering what I’ve got in my pocket, aren’t you?” Neptune smirks again.

Sun glances up to Neptune. He pauses before nodding hesitantly.

Neptune chuckles again. “So, this... cohort of mine, they’ve got connections to weapons. And, while they’re mostly known for making that, they’ve also got a hand in something a bit more... superficial.”

The man reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small, clear case. Sun raises an eyebrow.

“What’s-”

“They’re contacts.” Neptune cuts in. “Well, color contacts. A special kind of color contacts.”

“What do they do?” Sun asks hesitantly.

“Well,”

Neptune places the lens case on the bed before leaning forward and grabbing both of Sun’s hands. Sun’s eyes widen, immediately trying to struggle out of Neptune’s grip. Neptune grins, his hands squeezing tighter around Sun’s wrists.

“You need to relax before I can show you.” Neptune says, voice deep and calm.

Sun lets out a long breath before relaxing into the bed, his back coming to lean against the wall. Neptune smirks, his grip on Sun’s hands lightening.

“Thank you.”

Neptune lets go of Sun’s right hand. The man focuses his attention on the straps of Sun’s gauntlet, pausing a moment before he tightens the strap around Sun’s wrist as tight as possible. Sun feels but doesn’t register the jolt of pain that goes up in his body, his brain strangely too hazy to try and process the sensation. Neptune repeats this process with the straps around Sun’s four fingers, tightening them so much that it makes a jolt of pain go up Sun’s body, leaving behind an incredibly dull ache. Neptune continues to glance at Sun’s hand, a smirk coming onto his face.

“This is gonna hurt.”

Neptune places one hand on Sun’s thumb, the other on Sun’s hand before jerking Sun’s thumb down as hard and quickly as he could. Sun’s eyes widen as an intense jolt of pain runs down his body.

Sun blinks rapidly, looking over to Neptune. “Nep, why-”

“Sun, please.” Neptune cuts in, disappointment in his voice. “Can you stop with the questions?”

Sun frowns. He looks down to his left hand, trying to move any of his fingers when-

Sun’s eyes widen. He can’t move them. He can’t move any of them. He looks back up to Neptune, about to say something when-

Sun bites his tongue as Neptune jerks Sun’s right thumb down. The Faunus clearly hears the dull crack the bone makes, tears starting to well up in his eyes as a jolt of pain runs up his body. Sun sniffs, willing back the want to let his tears fall as Neptune looks up to him.

“Now I can show you what these babies do.” Neptune says, holding up the small, clear case. His voice deepens slightly with the next words he speak. “Promise to keep your eyes open, okay?”

Sun lets out a breath, nodding slightly, his eyes still fixed on Neptune. Neptune smirks.

“Good.”

Sun hears Neptune open the case, the man turning away to fiddle with something before he looks over to Sun. The man flashes a smirk, leaning forward and forcing Sun’s left eye open. He jabs at Sun’s eye, placing something there before leaning back. Sun leans forward slightly, covering his left eye as tears start to well up again. Neptune tuts, lightly grasping Sun’s cheek as he turns Sun’s head to face him again.

“You need to face me so I can get through this.” Neptune says, calm voice tinged with harshness.

Sun nods, letting out a shaky breath. Neptune turns back to fiddle with something. He pauses when he turns back to Sun, a small smirk on his face. Sun is less surprised this time when Neptune grabs at Sun’s face, wrenching Sun’s right eye open before jabbing a contact into his eye. Sun leans forward slightly, grasping at his right eye, biting at his lip to press back the tears that want to fall.

“Now, Sun,” Neptune says. “What’d I tell you about keeping your eyes open?”

Sun pauses, looking back up towards Neptune, and slowly opening his eyes-

Sun’s face falls. Wait. He- he can’t see. He can’t see a damn thing.

“Ne-Neptune-”

Sun hears a chuckle to his left, and jerks his head in that direction.

“Nep-”

“This is your punishment, Sun, for abandoning me so soon after I’ve laid my claim on you.” Neptune says, voice moving towards Sun’s right side. Sun turns his head in conjunction with where he hears the man’s voice. “If you so desperately don’t want to see me-”

Sun feels breath ghost his right ear. “Then you won’t see anything.”

Sun brings a hand up to his right eye, trying to-

“You’re not gonna be able to take those off, Sun.” Neptune says. “Even if you tried, they’re hard contacts. It’s nothing like with soft contacts, where you just pinch and the damn thing falls out. If you don’t know how to take them out, then they’re never coming out.”

“Honestly, paralyzing your fingers was an extra precaution more than anything.” Neptune continues. “Well, that and I figured the pain would add some ‘oomph’ to the point I’m trying to make, wouldn’t you agree?”

Sun’s hand falls slowly, the Faunus keeping his eyes trained forward despite how clouded his vision is.

“I’ll see you later, Sun.” Neptune says.

The Faunus hears Neptune walk away, his steps pausing as he opens what Sun could only assume is the front door. Sun jerks his head towards the door.

“You-you’re not leaving me here, are you?” Sun says, desperation in his voice.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before Scarlet and Sage.” Neptune merely replies. “I’ll see you later, Sun.”

“Neptune-” Sun lets out a shaky breath when he hears the door slam shut.

Sun looks toward where his right hand should be, clenching and unclenching his grip on the sheets.

How the hell is he getting out of this one?

Sun bites at his lip, avoiding the impulse to panic.

Wait. Sun’s face lights up. He has his Scroll. Sun reaches into his right back pocket, letting out a small sigh of relief when he feels the plastic. He pulls out his Scroll, placing it in his hands, and pulling on opposite ends, the Scroll making a small bing in response.

Sun pauses. As much as he’d want to call Sage or Scarlet, they probably couldn’t help him; only Neptune knows how to take these things out. The Faunus feels around the right handle of the Scroll, stopping to press and hold down a small button.

“Call Neptune.” Sun says.

A pause. Nothing.

Sun presses on the button again. “Call. Neptune.”

Nothing. Sun’s face falls. Had he really turned off the voice activation?

Sun’s breath quickens, starting to rack his mind-

The sound of ‘Age of Aquarius’ blares out of his Scroll’s speakers. Sun’s face lights up.

The Faunus presses the screen around where he remembers the Accept button being, eventually hearing Neptune’s voice.

“Hello Sun.”

“Neptune!” Sun replies, voice excessively enthusiastic. “Wh-where are you?”

Neptune chuckles. “That’s exactly why I called you. You’re gonna come find me.”

“Wait, what?” Sun replies, mouth agape. “H-how am I supposed to do that?”

“I’ll be your eyes.” Neptune says simply.

Sun raises an eyebrow. What?

“If you want to find me, you’re gonna stay on this call with me.” Neptune continues. “I’ll tell you exactly where to go, how many steps to take, where to look.” Neptune chuckles at the word. “And, as long as you follow every word I say to the letter, we’ll meet again.”

“How-”

“God, Sun, why do you always have to do that?” Neptune cuts in. “Don’t you know by now that I’ll tell what you need to know when you need to know?”

Sun bites his lip.

“S-sorry.”

Neptune chuckles. “It's fine.”

“So, now that you know what we’re doing, I’ll tell you this: I’m at A Simple Wok.”

Sun’s eyes widen. “That’s almost two miles from the school!”

“Then you better listen carefully.” Sun can practically hear Neptune’s smirk. “So, the first thing I want you to do is stand up.”

Sun hesitantly stands.

“You know that table near the front door?”

Sun nods, blinking a few times. “Oh, right, yeah.”

“There’s a pair of headphones on there. I measured, and for you, it’ll take six steps forward and three to your left to get to that table. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, go on then.” Neptune says.

Sun lets out a breath, slowly taking a step forward. Even though he only takes nine steps, it feels like an eternity before Sun reaches the door, his foot hitting against what he hopes is the table.

“The headphones should be close to the edge of the table.” Neptune says not even a moment after Sun takes his left step.

Sun nods, reaching out a hand. His fingers brush up against what sounds like something made of cheap metal and plastic, the materials making a harsh noise as they skid across the table. Sun raises an eyebrow before grabbing the headphones. Sun awkwardly fidgets with the headphones and his Scroll, eventually able to plug in the damn things and slip them into his ears.

“What was by the headphones?” Sun asks.

“Nothing you’ll need to worry about.” Neptune replies simply.

Sun nods, feeling himself shiver slightly.

“Right, so, if you reach forward, you should have no trouble reaching the door knob.”

Sun pauses a moment, hesitantly reaching out a hand. His hand slides down the wood of what he hopes is the front door, letting out a small sigh of relief when he feels cold metal in his hand. He slowly turns the door knob until he hears a faint click, promptly opening the door.

“I got it.” Sun says.

“Good.”

Sun shivers again. The sensation is strange; even though Sun can hear other noises when he has headphones on, they all seem nonexistent as soon as Neptune speaks. The man’s voice is like some strange blanket, surrounding him until it’s the only sensation he can feel.

“Now comes the real fun.” Neptune chuckles. “We live on the third floor of this dormitory, so you’ll have to be awfully careful once you hit those stairs.”

Sun bites at his lip, pushing back the visuals of him falling down the stairs, becoming a bloodied mess while he can’t see or do a damn thing.

“So, here are the steps you’ll need to take, and you better follow them to the letter...”

Neptune lists off each step, just faster than Sun can normally process. Sun repeats the steps back as much as he can, praying that Neptune would intervene if Sun ends up being wrong about an instruction.

It feels like an eternity, but Sun can’t help feeling relieved when Neptune gives Sun his last instruction of how to get out of the dorm, and how seconds after he takes his last step, he can feel the metal door handle in his hands. The Faunus pushes back tears, letting out a breath as he opens the door.

Sun can’t help feeling relief when, as the Faunus continues to follow Neptune’s instructions, he can hardly hear anyone outside. While he knows that Neptune would probably find some way to easily intervene, the idea of him still being helpless is more than a little scary for Sun.

The strangest thing for Sun is how, after a certain amount of time, any anxiety associated with Neptune’s instruction easily dissipates. Sun’s worries about not following Neptune’s orders correctly, or Neptune giving him the wrong ones, easily transform into the strangest sort of trust for the man.

Sun isn’t sure if this is a good or bad thing.

“Good, Sun.” Neptune says. “I might as well say, you’re only a block away from me.”

Sun lets out a sigh of relief, promptly perking up when he catches the faintest scent of a very familiar kind of Lo Mein.

“So, my last instructions are this...”

Sun mumbles the instructions to himself, his hand idly running along the wall to his right. As Sun takes his last step, he can finally hear it crystal clear: the sounds of meat sizzling in a wok, metal screeching against metal as the contents in a wok get stirred.

Sun stiffens when he feels something wrap around his waist, and feels someone pluck the headphone out of Sun’s right ear.

“You can take these silly things off now.” Neptune says close to Sun’s ear, a smirk in his voice.

Sun bites his lip, avoiding the sudden impulse to cry, before he pulls out his Scroll, and unplugs his headphones, shoving the things in his left pocket. The Faunus feels Neptune take the Scroll out of his hand, faintly hearing Neptune end the call. Neptune shoves the Scroll back in Sun’s right pocket, his breath ghosting Sun’s ear as Neptune leans back towards him.

“You did well, little Faunus.” Neptune says.

Sun feels a hint of resentment at the words.

“Shall we take those contacts of yours off?”

“Yes.” Sun’s eyes widen when he realizes how desperate his voice sounds. “P-please.”

Neptune chuckles. He takes his hand off of Sun’s waist, instead placing it on Sun’s right arm. “Then follow me.”

Sun feels a light tug on his arm, and pauses a moment before he follows Neptune. As the pair walk away, the noise from A Simple Wok gets fainter and fainter. Sun shivers as him and Neptune walk into an area that has more stagnant, slightly cooler air.

Sun’s eyes widen when he gets pushed up against a wall, his immobile fingers getting scratched on the bricks behind him. Neptune is resting a hand flat against Sun’s chest, the Faunus feeling heat radiating a few inches in front of his face.

“You’re not going to move a muscle while I do this, understand?” Neptune says in a strange tone of voice.

Sun nods.

“Good.”

Neptune grabs Sun’s left hand, tilting it upwards. Sun hears the sound of Neptune loosening the straps on his gauntlet. With each loosened strap, Sun can’t help but let out a sigh of relief as each finger regains sensation, more blood flowing into the small extremities. When Sun finally regains sensation in his left hand, he has to avoid the impulse to clench and unclench his fist, instead letting his hand fall to his side when Neptune lets go of it.

The process is repeated with his left hand, and as he regains more and more sensation in that hand, Sun can feel his anticipation rise.

He’ll be able to see soon.

Sun lets out a breath, feeling tears want to well up in his eyes. He shakes his head.

“And now for what you’ve really been waiting for.” Neptune says, only a few inches in front of Sun’s face.

Neptune grabs hold of Sun’s right eyelids, prying his eye open. Sun avoids the impulse to move his eye when he feels something suction to the contact, pulling out the plastic with a faint pop. Neptune moves on to the other eye, Sun immediately leaning forward to place a hand over his eyes a few seconds after the left contact comes out. Sun lets out a small breath, standing up straight before he takes his hands off of his eyes.

Sun’s eyes widen, a smile coming onto his face. Everything looks so crisp now; the lines of buildings that were once gigantic blurs are now, well, actual lines, obviously silhouettes and designs. The colors of his scenery, once muddled and tinted with gray, seem so much brighter, able to stand out on their own.

Sun leans back until his head hits the brick wall with a faint _thud_. His breaths become heavier as Sun tries to hold back the tears that prickle at his eyes.

“Sun?” Neptune mumbles, something like concern in the man’s voice.

Sun lets out one last deep breath, pausing a moment before he looks down at Neptune. The concern Neptune has in his expression quickly disappears once Sun makes eye contact with the man, replaced with a typical smirk.

“Let this be a lesson to you: never cross me again. Never do something stupid and petty like your feeble attempts at avoiding me.” Neptune says. “I’ve laid my claim on you, and I have no intention of letting go of it. Get it?”

Sun quickly nods, biting at his lip. “I-I’m s-”

Neptune shakes his head. “No, don’t do that, I don’t need to hear that sort of shit.”

Sun looks away from the man. Neptune lightly grabs Sun’s chin, jerking the Faunus’ head up to see him.

“I just want you to never forget those words, get it?” Neptune says, voice deep. “You’re going to forget that this ever happened, but you’ll never forget that you’re mine, okay?”

Sun nods.

Neptune smirks. “Good.”

“As soon as I snap my fingers, this all will happen, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

Neptune lets go of Sun’s chin, backing away a few steps before snapping.

Sun glances around the alley him and Neptune are in, an eyebrow raised. What? Wasn’t he at home trying to study not even two seconds ago?

“Uh, Neptune?”

“Oh, hey man, your order should be ready in a few.” Neptune replies, a hand idly rubbing at the back of his head. “Sorry, sounds like they had a bit of a mix up.”

“My order-”

“We took a break from studying to get stuff at A Simple Wok, remember?” Neptune asks, voice eerie.

Sun shakes his head. “Oh, yeah, right.” Sun cringes when his stomach growls. “Works out that my food’s gonna be ready soon, then.”

Neptune smirks. “Come on, let’s get our seats before someone else tries to steal them.”

Sun nods before following Neptune back towards the shop.

\---

_“Are you still taking me to that movie this week?” Sienna asks, a smile on her face._

_Neptune glances away for a moment, avoiding the impulse to groan loudly. “Depends. When are you available?”_

_“Any time Friday or Saturday.” Sienna wraps more around Neptune’s arm as a cold gust of wind blows down the road. Her eyes flicker up to Neptune. “That’s fine, right?”_

_Neptune frowns for the briefest of moments. She really didn’t remember, did she? Yes, Neptune’s hypnosis is always effective, but, she doesn’t even **try** to remember, does she? Even when he does anything to her nowadays, she hardly even fights. Definitely nowhere near as much as she used to. She’s so... placid now. Nowadays, she’s practically as moldable as putty._

_And, maybe Neptune’s supposed to be proud of that, but, no. He fucking hates it._

_Sienna slaps the arm she’s wrapped around. Neptune jumps slightly, shaking his head once._

_“Hey, I was talking to you, mister!”_

_She’s not really mad. Neptune shrugs. “Maybe.”_

_Sienna frowns. “You always say that.”_

_“I’m sorry?” Neptune replies, an eyebrow raised. “You know that I can be pretty busy sometimes.” He isn’t busy at all._

_Sienna rolls her eyes, letting out a breath. She glances to her right, her eyes catching something someone’s wearing. Not even a second later, she starts ramblings about the clothing store that thing had come from. Neptune tunes out after the first word, letting out a long breath, half-heartedly noticing the steam that comes out of his mouth in a long, thin trail._

_Boring she’s so boring she’s so boring she’s so-_

_There’s a flash of blonde in the corner of the man’s eye. Neptune immediately turns, feeling the faintest spark of recognition at the boy he sees. The boy is cupping a paper cup of coffee, still hot enough to billow steam into the air near the boy’s mouth. He has a small smile on his face, his cheeks a rosy shade of pink. Neptune’s eyes widen slightly when he notices the boy’s tail that’s curled against his body, out of the way of the wind that continues to blow._

_It, it’s him? It can’t be, can it? Neptune furrows his brow. But, it looks so much like him, like the Faunus boy from his childhood._

_It looks so much like his hero._

_Neptune feels a mixture of pain and longing as he watches the Faunus walk away, the blonde disappearing into the crowd._

_“Neptune?” Sienna says, bringing Neptune back to the present._

_“So-sorry,” Neptune says. “Uh, how far’s your house from here?”_

_Sienna rolls her eyes. “A couple of blocks. I don’t get why you don’t know that by now.”_

_Neptune nods. His eyes flicker back towards where the Faunus had been moments ago._

_Of course, that boy can’t really be Neptune’s hero anymore. That sort of notion is reserved for the weak child Neptune had been. Now, after all he’s done, Neptune can’t view him like that anymore._

_If anything, Neptune feels the strangest pull to the Faunus. He feels this desire to see how far he could take the boy without breaking him. Neptune’s eyes flicker to Sienna. It’d definitely last longer than it has with her. It doesn’t seem like that boy could easily break._

_“You okay, Neptune?” Sienna asks, that nagging tone out of her voice._

_Neptune shakes his head. “Yeah, I’m fine.”_

_Sienna nods slowly. “Alright.”_

_“Oh yeah, you said you’re available Friday, right?” Neptune asks._

_“Mhm!” Sienna grins. “Are you taking me to the movie, then?”_

_Neptune nods. “Yeah, I think I’ll have time around six or seven.”_

_“Yay!” Sienna leans over, kissing Neptune on the cheek. “I love you.”_

_“I love you too.” Neptune replies, voice tinged with fake affection._

_He’s never taking her to that movie; he found his next target, so he has to get rid of the evidence from this one. Neptune glances over to Sienna. Maybe she’ll be more interesting then._

_When Neptune gets to the front step of Sienna’s house, his eyes widen, his mouth falling open._

_ That boy, he remembers his name now: Sun, Sun Wukong. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And of course, if you wanna see the writing I've posted exclusively to my Tumblr, you should go [here](http://oceannanotoceania.tumblr.com/). :3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun has a strange dream. Neptune practices his sewing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry about the delay folks! To make up for it (also simply because I want to finish up all my fanfic before the new year), I'm gonna be posting the last chapter within the next couple of days as well! No but, as always, shoutout to my beta [freelancerkiwi](http://freelancerkiwi.tumblr.com/), go check out her writing [here](http://archiveofourown.org/users/freelancerkiwi/pseuds/FreelancerKiwi). And of course, thanks be to [chickenram](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/) for drawing their [Darksolar AU](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/tagged/darksolar) way back when. :3
> 
> Triggers: Needles, Needlework, Cuts

Everything is gray; everything is so muddled, blurred until what should be familiar shapes become large blobs. Sun places a hand over his eyes, blinking a few times before he lets his hand fall away. Sun bites at his lip. Nope, still nothing.

Sun’s body stiffens when he hears whispering in his ear, the words just distinct enough for him to understand. The Faunus turns, trying to figure out where exactly the voice is coming from, but he can’t place it; the voice seems localized, yet also encompassing Sun at the same time.

Sun bites his lip, turning his focus towards trying to comprehend the words he hears. Well, actually not words- instructions. The instructions seem to be repeating themselves, so Sun waits until he hears a brief pause, then starts to move when the instructions start up again. Sun lets out a breath. Hopefully the instructions are right.

It feels like time has practically slowed as Sun walks according to the directions in his ears. Any sort of process in his mind is put on hold, his being so fixated on the words whispered in his ears. Sun stops when he hears the instructions pause, expecting to hear something else. He frowns.

Sun’s body stiffens, feeling something warm brush his cheek before that same voice speaks to him.

“Good, Sun.”

Sun frowns slightly. That voice sounds... familiar. That warm feeling comes back to rest on his right cheek. Sun feels something pry his right eye open, pulling something out of it. Sun reaches a hand up, obscuring his right eye as he feels the same thing happen to his other eye. The Faunus leans forward, covering his face with both hands. Sun feels something run through his hair, breath brushing against his right ear.

“Open your eyes.”

Sun bites at his lip, pausing before he lets his hands fall away. He blinks a few times, moving his head to see what’s in front of him. His eyes widen as he takes in his surrounding, colorful yet tinged with some strange white light. He looks back to the person in front of him. Sun feels like he can see a face in front of him, but he can’t register who it is. Sun frowns, leaning forward slightly-

Sun bolts upright in bed, eyes flickering around the room. He’s panting loudly, his hands tightly gripping at the sheets.

“Sun?”

Sun blinks a few times, shaking his head before he looks toward the voice.

“N-Neptune?”

Neptune raises an eyebrow. “You okay dude?”

“I-” Sun lets out a breath, trying to stop panting. “I had a dream.”

“A nightmare?”

Sun frowns. “I don’t know, actually.”

Neptune slowly nods. “You gonna try and go back to sleep?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Sun pauses. “Why aren’t you asleep, dude?”

Neptune shrugs. “I’ve always had issues with insomnia.”

“Oh.” Sun says. “Are you gonna go back to sleep soon?”

“Hopefully.”

“...Do you need help falling asleep?” Sun asks.

Neptune shakes his head. “Just go to sleep, Sun, I’ll be fine.”

Sun frowns. “Alright. Just, try and sleep, okay?”

Neptune chuckles. “Yeah, I will.”

“Night, Neptune.”

“Good night, Sun.”

Sun lays back down. The last thing Sun feels before he falls asleep is something brush through his hair.

Sun doesn’t dream.

~

Sun plops onto Neptune’s bed, the man jolting. Neptune glances up from his book, looking over to Sun. He raises an eyebrow.

“Dude, what the hell?” Neptune says.

“Sorry.” Sun replies.

He moves over, scanning the pages of the book Neptune has in his lap. Neptune frowns, closing the book slightly. Sun shakes his head, glancing back up to Neptune.

“Whatcha reading?”

“I-It’s nothing.” Neptune replies.

“It’s not porn, is it?”

Neptune’s eyes widen. “W-What?”

“We’re both teenage boys dude, you don’t have to worry about being ashamed of it.”

“Dude, just, no!” Neptune exclaims. “It’s about sewing, okay?”

Sun tilts his head. “Sewing?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if you have questions about that, why not ask Sage?”

“Sage knows how to sew?”

“Uh, yeah.” Sun replies. “Who do you think mends our clothes?”

Neptune slowly nods. “Oh. Well, I’m not sure if he could help me that much, I want to work with something a bit, thicker.”

“Sage has worked with leather, he should still know how to help you.”

Neptune nods. A door opens, and Neptune turns towards the front, seeing Sage and Scarlet walk in, the pair wielding a variety of paper shopping bags.

“Sage isn’t allowed to go shopping for the rest of our stay.”

Sage’s eyes flicker over to Scarlet, the man slowly shaking his head.

“I think the person who should be banned from shopping is you, Scarlet.”

Scarlet frowns. Sun lets out a chuckle, a smirk coming onto Sage’s face.

“Oh yeah, how are the thumbs feeling, Sun?” Sage asks.

“A lot better.” Sun holds up his hands, flexing his fingers for Sage to see.

Sage nods. “Don’t worry about using the braces anymore, then. If the pain flares back up, let me know, okay?”

“I will.” Sun chimes in.

Sage nods, following Scarlet to put away the various items they had gotten.

“Can I see?” Neptune asks.

Sun looks over to Neptune, an eyebrow raised. “See what.”

“Your hands, what else could I be asking for?”

“Oh, yeah.” Sun shakes his head, holding out his hands.

Neptune looks down at Sun’s hands, slowly taking them in his own. Neptune turns Sun’s hands over, idly moving each finger. Sun’s eyes flicker away, biting at his lip when a blush comes onto his face.

What the hell is wrong with him?

This sort of thing has been happening lately; as soon as Neptune is even in close proximity with Sun, the Faunus feels flustered in some way. It used to almost never happen, but Sun catches himself blushing a lot more than he used to. What makes things worse are the thoughts that come with this blush; Sun can’t help his mind wandering to one word simple word as soon as he starts to feel himself blush: more. He’s not even sure what the “more” entails; at first he thought that the “more” just meant that he wanted to be around Neptune more often but frankly, the pair spend plenty of time together.

The first time Sun learned what kind of connotation that “more” probably was came more as a surprise than anything. He couldn’t exactly believe in something like he could be harboring a crush on his team mate; after all, Neptune had only been part of their team for a few weeks. You can’t develop something like that in that much time, can you? Especially when you still don’t know very much about that person-

“Sun?”

Sun shakes his head, looking back up at Neptune.

“You okay, dude?”

“Y-yeah.” Sun replies. “Sorry, I was just, thinking.”

Neptune slowly nods his head. Sun glances back down at his hands, watching Neptune let go of them. Sun can’t help frowning at the sudden loss of touch.

“So, what are you trying to sew, exactly?” Sun nods toward the book Neptune still has in his lap.

“Oh,” Neptune’s eyes flicker down to the book. “Just, just want to practice something I haven’t done before.”

“Okay then.”

“Sun?”

Sun raises an eyebrow, turning towards the voice. He looks up, seeing Sage a few feet in front of Neptune’s bed.

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something real quick?”

Sun glances over to Neptune. The man’s face is neutral, his eyes fixed on the book in his lap. Sun shakes his head.

“Yeah, sure.”

Sage nods. Sun follows Sage towards the large, white cabinet. Sage lets out a breath.

“Do you remember anything about how you hurt your hands?” Sage asks.

Sun bites at his lip, his eyes flickering away from Sage. “No. I’ve, I’ve tried, but I can’t remember anything at all.”

“You remember nothing from when you injured your hands?”

“I mean,” Sun replies. “I know that me and Neptune went to get food from A Simple Wok on that same day.”

Sage frowns. He looks towards the front room. “Right.”

“Well, tell me when you remember anything new, okay?”

Sun nods. “Of course, man.”

Sage flashes a small smile. “Right, good.”

~

Sun lets out a small sigh, his eyes slowly opening-

What. Sun’s eyes widen. No, no, it can’t be- He can’t see. No no no no, this is so much worse than the gray, muddled mess, so much worse-

Sun starts to move his right arm, his eyes widening again when he hears something _thud_ against wood. He moves his arm again, hearing that same _thud_ as his arm refuses to budge. No, no. Sun bites his lip, fighting the impulse to panic. He heaves a sigh, trying to ignore the fact that all he sees is black and that he can’t move a damn inch.

Sun finally gets his breath to even out right before he can see again. Sun hitches a breath when he sees Neptune leaning over him, a grin on his face, and a black cloth balled up in one hand.

“You’re awfully feisty, little Faunus.” Neptune says. “Was worried I’d have to tighten the bonds more.”

Sun crinkles his nose, his eyes flickering towards his feet. His mouth falls open slightly when he sees the bonds on his feet. At first they look like belts that Neptune has repurposed for this use, but when Sun notices how differently the bonds are shaped, he learns that’s not the case at all. Sun tilts his head towards his arms, seeing how they’re bound to opposite corners of the bedpost. The Faunus looks over to Neptune.

“W-Where are Scarlet and Sage?”

“I told them that we needed some time to study alone.” Neptune replies. “Sage was awfully hesitant about it, but Scarlet won him over in the end, saying some shit about how Sage was just too paranoid.” Neptune shrugs. “It works out, it seems like he’s awfully close to figuring out this little relationship of ours, and I’d hate for it to come to an end so soon.”

Relationship? Sun furrows his brow, feeling that nagging at the back of his head again. Neptune tilts his head, chuckling half-heartedly.

“Try not to strain yourself, dude.” Neptune says.

Sun frowns.

“Cause, you’re trying to remember something, aren’t you?” Neptune leans in closer, his face stopping about a foot in front of Sun’s. “There’s that little nagging at the back of your mind, that little feeling of deja vu. Isn’t there?”

Sun hesitantly nods. Neptune chuckles again.

“See, Sun? That’s exactly why I chose you.” Neptune says.

Sun furrows his brow. “Chose?”

Neptune smirks. “It’s too soon for me to talk about that sort of thing, isn’t it?” He pauses. “Well, try not to think too much about the past, I want you to focus on what I’m doing to you right now.”

Sun glances down, noticing the thick needle Neptune has in his hand. A long strand of yellow thread is threaded through the needle, hanging low enough to brush against Neptune’s forearm.

“Now, Sun,” Neptune says in a strangely familiar tone. “You’re going to be very, very still, got it?”

Sun relaxes his body, his fists unclenching before he nods. Neptune smirks, bringing a free hand down to brush along Sun’s abs. Sun feels goosebumps appear when the man’s cold hands brush his exposed skin.

“Good.” Neptune lets out a small breath. “This might hurt a little.”

Sun lifts his head up slightly, watching Neptune lean over slightly, the hand with the needle coming to rest on a spot just above Sun’s right hip. Neptune’s eyes flicker up to Sun, pausing before he pierces Sun’s skin.

Sun’s body stiffens, his fists clenching. He bites at his lip, wondering how something like a needle can cause him this level of pain. The Faunus can tell when the thread enters his body; the string moves inside him as if it’s a worm burrowing into dirt, the fibers of it brushing along the inside of Sun’s skin. Neptune’s eyes flicker up to Sun once he’s made the first pass with the thread. He chuckles, a strange twinkle in his eyes when he sees the torn look on Sun’s face.

“I thought I told you not to strain yourself.”

Sun’s face falls at the words, a small frown coming onto his face. Neptune chuckles, looking back down at Sun’s lower stomach. He leans over more, resuming his work.

“You know, Sun,” Neptune says. “I spent a surprising amount of time practicing this sort of thing. Granted, I haven’t done any sewing or embroidery on something so...” Neptune trails off, shrugging slightly. “But, I like to think I’ve gotten good within the last few days.”

Neptune pulls on the needle, Sun’s body stiffening when he feels the thread tighten. Neptune chuckles.

“The best thing is, I haven’t even needed to breath a single word about this to Sage.” Neptune continues. “This is all me.”

Sun merely nods, letting out a long breath as he fights the impulse to squirm when he feels the thread move under his skin. Neptune pauses when he finishes threading one section, his eyes flickering up to Sun. He smirks, leaning back over, and sinking the needle into Sun’s skin.

Sun’s eyes widen, a jolt of pain going up his spine. He hisses, biting at his lip as his arms jerk. Neptune pauses, flashing a small scowl. He grips at Sun’s tail, leaving the needle in Sun’s skin as he moves himself closer to Sun’s face. Neptune’s grip on the Faunus’ tail tightens, making Sun bite at his lip.

“I thought I told you to stay still.” Neptune saying, gritting his teeth. “Something much worse will happen if you ruin my work, got it?”

Sun bites at his lip, sniffing as he feels tears build up in his eyes. He nods. Neptune smirks, letting go of Sun’s tail.

“Good.”

Neptune moves back over to where he had jabbed the needle into Sun’s skin, glancing back at Sun one last time before he resumes his work. Sun lets his head fall back onto his pillow, trying to even out his breathing as he feels each prick of the needle and each pass of the thread. Sun’s fists clench, relaxing the slightest bit each time the pain lessens.

It feels like an eternity passes before he feels the needle pass through one last time, a small pause before he hears the thread get snipped. Neptune lets out a small chuckle.

“Well then, Sun,” Neptune says, moving closer to Sun’s face. He grasps the Faunus’ chin, tilting Sun’s head forward. “Why don’t you have a look at my work?”

Sun squints slightly. From this angle, he’s just able to notice how the thread stands out against his tanned skin, taking the shape of... a sun, of all things.

“Why’s it a sun?”

“Why not?” Neptune replies. He chuckles when he notices the small frown on the Faunus’ face. “Well, you’re the sunshine in my life.”

Sun’s eyes flicker away from Neptune, a slightly mortified look on his face. Neptune chuckles.

“You don’t like looking at me, do you?” Neptune jerks Sun’s chin again, making the Faunus face him. “Any reason for that?”

Sun avoid the impulse to look away from Neptune, licking at his lips before he gulps. Neptune chuckles.

“Now then. Sage and Scarlet shouldn’t be home for about another hour. And, as much as I want this to stay on you indefinitely, I’ll have to get it off of you sometime before then. So, I need you to do something for me,” Neptune leans forward slightly, his face stopping about half a foot in front of Sun’s. “You’re going to forget that this happened. But, in an hour, you’re going to go to the bathroom- I don’t care why you decide to go- and you’re going to notice the little design I’ve left on you. Once you do, you’re gonna call me over to get this off before Sage and Scarlet get home. Got it?”

Sun nods. Neptune smirks, his grip on Sun’s chin lessening.

“Good. Now, after I get these bonds off of you, I’m going to snap my fingers. Then you’re going to do everything I told you. Get it?”

Sun nods. Neptune nods.

“Good.” Neptune moves to Sun’s feet, starting to undo the bonds there.

“Why are you doing this?” Sun asks.

Neptune pauses, looking back over to Sun. He raises an eyebrow. “Why am I doing what?”

“All of... this,” Sun gestures his head, wishing his hands were free. “Everything you’ve done to me in the past, or, what I’m assuming you’ve done to me in the past, it’s all had a reason, right?”

Neptune remains silent.

“S-so, what’s the reason for this?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Sun bites at his lip, nodding once.

Neptune sighs. “It’s a test.”

Sun starts to open his mouth, and Neptune quickly shakes his head. Sun bites at his lip again.

“I’m just going to leave it at that.”

Neptune goes back to undoing the bonds on Sun’s feet. Sun’s head falls back to his pillow, letting out a long sigh.

~

Sun pauses as he walks into the bathroom. What the hell does he need to do again? He rolls his eyes, letting out a small groan. He starts to walk back to the main room, pausing when he catches something weird in the mirror. Sun faces the mirror, raising an eyebrow before he lifts up the right part of his shirt.

There’s a small sun there. At first, it looks like some weird kind of tattoo, but it doesn’t take long to realize that huh, that’s sticking out more than a tattoo should. Sun brushes a hand over the marking, shaking his head before he glances out the door.

“Hey, Neptune!” Sun calls. “Can you look at this real quick?”

~

_Neptune raises an eyebrow when he catches a glimpse of the large black-and-white photo on the newspaper that the guard in front of his cell is in the midst of reading. Neptune tilts his head slightly, his bed creaking slightly when he got up, letting his feet hang off the edge of the bed. The guard jolts, his grip tight on the edges of the newspaper as he closes it. He turns to face Neptune, a frown on his face._

_“You should be asleep, inmate.” The guard says._

_“I couldn’t sleep.” Neptune replies simply._

_The guard squints, his frown deepening._

_“Hey man, I can’t help it, I’ve got insomnia.”_

_“Just because you’re privileged enough to not have to be in one of those pod cells doesn’t mean I have to put up with your lip, inmate.”_

_“I don’t think being in one of these cells simply because of my ‘mental state’ makes me very ‘privileged’.” Neptune replies._

_The guard squints again. Neptune lets out a small chuckle. He points at the newspaper in the guard’s hands._

_“What’s the main story?”_

_The guard’s eyes flicker down to the newspaper. “Nothing you need to worry about.”_

_“Can I read it?”_

_“I said, it’s nothing you need to worry about, inmate.”_

_Neptune frowns. He lets out a small breath, his voice much different when he speaks again. “You should let me read it.”_

_The guard blinks few times, his face falling. He moves closer to the door of Neptune’s cell, sticking the hand with the newspaper through one of the holes in Neptune’s cell. Neptune smirks, getting up off the bed, and grabbing the newspaper out of the guard’s hand._

_“Good.” Neptune eyes flicker down to the newspaper. “Now, you should leave. One of the inmates at the opposite side of this hallway’s causing a riot again.”_

_The guard nods, pausing before he slowly walks down the hall. Neptune keeps his eyes on the guard, finally looking away when the guard is out of his sight. Neptune walks back to his bed, flipping through the newspaper until he sees the photo he’d noticed earlier._

_The photo in the article takes up the upper left corner, depicting a large school that looks slightly familiar to Neptune. To the right of the large photo is the title, reading **VYTAL FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE AT BEACON ACADEMY**. Neptune frowns. Perhaps he didn’t know about the school, then. Neptune shakes his head, reading the rest of the article._

**_After a long voting process, Vale has been chosen to host this year’s Vytal Festival. The major event, the tournament, is to take place at Beacon Academy. It’s predicted that more people will be coming this year than any other, likely spurred by the sudden influx of students at many of the academies throughout Remnant._ **

**_Mistral’s renowned Haven Academy is sending out more than thirty teams this year. In a surprising turn of events, team SSSN, known to have lost its fourth member last year due to a run-in with Grimm gone awry, is also one of the teams to be sent. Team SSSN (or, rather, team SSS)-_ **

_Neptune frowns at the comment._

**_-is composed of Sage Dartmouth, Scarlet Wine, and their team leader, Sun Wukong. Even with the loss of a member, seeing one of Haven’s most prominent teams out on the stadium floor will be a sight to see! More info about the tournament and the Vytal Festival, which is to take place on XX/XX, shall be in your favourite newspaper and written by your favorite journalist, Harlequin Green. Until then!_ **

_Neptune closes the newspaper, placing it in his lap. His eyes flicker towards the slit in the back of his cell that counts as a window. Is it really him? Two years since that encounter, two years since those “rash” actions took that sent Neptune to this hellhole. And in that time, Neptune had grown surprisingly... placid. All too accepting of the fact that he’d likely rot in this cell for the rest of his life. But now, this article has come up, speaking of someone Neptune thought he’d never see again._

_Is this the closest Neptune will ever get to fate?_

_Neptune’s eyes flicker towards the front of his cell. He pauses a moment, nodding once before he reaches under his mattress, scrummaging until... There. Neptune grabs a thin piece of metal, smirking as he pulls out the key, resting his hand a few inches in front of his face. He’d gotten the key off of one of the guards a bit after he’d been put in this hellhole, back before he’d resigned himself to rotting here. He didn’t really use it that often, and even when he decides to use it all Neptune’d do is wander around the asylum. It’s not like Neptune has any sort of plan of what to do if he escaped; after all, there’d never been much worth in his life._

_Of course, that’s so much different now._

_Neptune idly rubs the key with his thumb and index finger. He nods. Right. He wraps his hand around the key, flipping the newspaper to where the date is. One month, one month until the Vytal Festival starts. Assuming he can still contact his old... comrades, he won’t have any trouble getting to Beacon within the next few days._

_ Neptune smirks. He can definitely work with that. The man chuckles. After so long, he’ll finally be reunited with Sun. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And of course, feel free to check me out on [Tumblr](http://oceannanotoceania.tumblr.com/). I'm leaving requests open, but I plan on working on more original work during 2015, so I'm not sure if I can get to many of them. :'D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neptune gets found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here it is folks, we've approached the finish line! So yeah. Thank you so much to [freelancerkiwi](http://freelancerkiwi.tumblr.com/) for being my lovely beta, and of course thank you to [chickenram](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/) for making [this AU](http://chickenram.tumblr.com/tagged/darksolar) a thing in the first place. I hope you guys have enjoyed this whole thing, because I sure as hell have. :3
> 
> Triggers: Breath Play, Asphyxiation, Bondage

Sun lets out a breath as he watches Sage peel off the gauze. Sage lets out a sigh of relief when he sees the scabbed over wound, an injury that had been essentially all blood for the past couple of days.

“Give it another day or two and it should be healed.” Sage says.” Especially with this.” The man holds up a very familiar container, half-filled with one of Sage’s handmade salves.

“But dude, that stuff stings.” Sun replies.

Sage shrugs. “That’s how you know it’s working.”

“Yeah, I know.” Sun lets out a small sigh.

Sage frowns. “So, you want me to put this on now, or can I trust you to put it on yourself by the end of the day?”

“I, I can put it on.” Sun replies. At least that way he could take breaks if it ended up stinging too much.

Sage nods, placing the container on the edge of Sun’s bed closest to him. “Alright, I’ll leave you that, then.” Sage’s eyes flicker oven to Neptune, who’s sat on his bed, absorbed in reading a math textbook, of all things. Sage bites at his lip, leaning closer to Sun, his voice quieter when he speaks. “Y-You’ve forgotten how you got this wound too, haven’t you?”

Sun lets out a breath, nodding once.

“I figured as much.” Sage pauses, looking back over to Neptune. His lip twitches. “H-have you considered that maybe, somehow, Neptune’s connected to all of this?”

Sun’s eyes widen. “Neptune?”

“Y-Yeah.” Sage replies hesitantly. “I think that, somehow, he’s connected to everything that I’ve seen happen to you: the wounds, your injured fingers, your...birthmark. Somehow, he’s connected to it.”

Sun furrows his brow.

“I-I don’t how, but I talked to Scarlet about it, and they agree: Neptune’s involved in this somehow, Sun.”

“No, he can’t,” Sun’s eyes flicker oven to Neptune, who still is buried in the math textbook. “Neptune can’t be involved in this, can he?”

Sage shrugs. “I don’t know for sure. T-the only way we could know is if you’re able to remember how you got your injuries. I can give you something I’m pretty sure; if I remember my book correctly, there’s a small drink I can brew up that can help with memory loss. If you’re okay with it, I’d like for you to drink it.”

“Okay.” Sun nods. “I’ll do it. Just, promise me something-”

Sage briefly looks oven to Neptune, shaking his head before looking back oven to Sun.

“If, somehow, Neptune’s involved in my injuries, don’t get the teachers involved in this.” Sun says. Sage frowns. “At least, not immediately. I think that we’ll be able to figure this out without the teachers’ help. And if we can’t, then you can get help from someone. Okay?”

Sage lets out a breath, nodding his head. Sun flashes a small smile.

“Thanks man.”

“Yeah.” Sage says. “I’m gonna grab my book real quick, make sure we’ve got all the ingredients for this drink before I make it.”

“Sounds good.”

Sage nods, leaning forward to place a hand on Sun’s shoulder. “Come to me if you remember anything before then, okay?”

“I will.”

Sage hesitantly smiles, walking away from Sun, back towards the cabinet. Neptune looks up from his book when he hears Sage pass by, an eyebrow raised.

“What were you guys talking about?”

“Uh,” Sun hesitates. “I’ve just, had some memory problems. Sage told me that he might be able to make something that’d help me get over them, though.”

“Is it about school?”

“Well,” Sun bites his lip. “No, it’s a bit more personal than that.”

Neptune nods. “Anything in particular?”

“N-no, not really.” Sun feels a tinge of guilt about his omission, promptly wondering why exactly he felt like hiding the reason behind all this.

Neptune frowns slightly. “Alright then.”

Sun glances down at the textbook. “You’ve been really focused on that book.”

Neptune’s eyes flicker down to the book in his lap. “Yeah, I’m just making sure I remember a few things before the test we have tomorrow.”

Sun’s face falls. “We have a test?”

“Uh, yeah.” Neptune snorts. “You forget?”

“I guess so.”

“Maybe Sage should be making that drink because of school.”

Sun frowns. “Actually, can you help me with a few concepts? I’m still confused about some stuff.”

“Yeah.” Neptune waves Sun over.

Sun plops onto Neptune’s bed, reaching out a hand to brace himself before he scoots back to the wall. A faint blush graces Sun’s face when his fingers brush against Neptune’s retreating hand.

“So, what’s confusing you, exactly?” Neptune asks.

Sun’s mouth falls open slightly. “Uh.”

Neptune rolls his eyes, letting out a small chuckle. “Guess we’ll just start from the beginning, then.”

Sun leans over slightly, watching Neptune flip back through the textbook.

“Right,” Neptune breathes out. Sun feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when the man’s breath ghosts his skin. “So,”

Neptune launches into an explanation, each word appearing to be picked with care. Sun’s gaze is fixed on the book, watching Neptune’s hand ghost across the page as he speaks about the subject in front of them.

Sun is pulled out of a strange daze when Neptune stops talking, ending his speech with a simple, “Make sense?”

Sun looks up then, eyes widening as he realizes how close Neptune’s face is to his own. The Faunus’ eyes flicker down to Neptune’s lips. He shakes his head, gaze moving back up to Neptune.

“Uh, yeah actually.” Sun replies.

“Really?”

Sun nods.

“Seemed like you were spacing out at times, but alright.” Neptune mumbles, a strange expression briefly on his face. “So, that all you needed to ask me about?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Sun looks up when he hears steps into the main room, seeing Sage stood, a mug in one hand, steam billowing out of the small cup.

“Oh, is that the-”

Sage nods, walking over to Sun. Sun holds out his hands, hands wrapping around the small mug.

“Drink this slowly, okay?”

Sun nods. “I will.”

Sage’s eyes flicker over to Neptune. “You helping him with something?”

“Well, was,” Neptune replies. “Just finished explaining some stuff that’ll be on the math test tomorrow.” Neptune flashes a small scowl. “Got a problem with that?”

Sage squints his eyes slightly. “I guess not.” He looks back over to Sun. “Remember, drink it slowly.”

Sun nods, his tail curling in slightly as he takes a sip of the warm liquid. He lets out a small sigh. Even if the drink Sage gave him doesn’t help much, at least it tastes pretty good, the liquid filling him with a nice sense of warmth.

Sage glances back to Neptune for the briefest of moments before walking over to Scarlet, who’s sat on Sage’s bed. Neptune’s eyes flicker over to Sage, another frown briefly on his face.

~

Sun squeezes his eyes shut, vision turning white as a burning sensation spreads through his body. The pain is searing, making the Faunus bite at his lip as he tries to hold back a scream. Sun clenches his fists, trying to move his paralyzed hands.

Sun lets out a shaky breath when he hears a strangely comforting voice in his ears, the voice mumbling a string of indistinguishable words. His fists relax slightly, some notion at the back of his mind telling him that the voice wants him to relax.

Sun feels breath ghost his ear, a small pause before he hears the voice faintly say, “You can open your eyes-”

“Sun?”

Sun’s eyes fly open, the Faunus panting as he turns to his right side, backing away when he notices Neptune’s face only a few inches from his own.

“You okay, dude?”

Sun’s eyes flicker towards his hands, which are still gripping tightly at the sheets. Sun lets out a small sigh, unclenching his fists.

“No, I don’t think so.” Sun replies.

“I figured,” Neptune says. “You were screaming pretty loud.”

“Screaming?” Sun raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Neptune glances back towards Scarlet and Sage. “I’m surprised neither of them woke up, though I guess they’re both pretty heavy sleepers.”

Sun frowns slightly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“So, what happened? Were you dreaming or something?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“About...?”

Sun pauses. “I don’t remember exactly what happened, but there was burning.”

Neptune raises an eyebrow. “Burning?”

Sun nods. “Yeah. It was so painful, dude, and it felt like it was everywhere all at once and,” The Faunus cuts himself off, shaking his head once.

“Burning.” Neptune repeats, voice barely above a whisper. A frown appears on his face for the briefest of moments.

“That sound familiar to you or something?”

“No, no, it just seems about weird to dream about, doesn’t it?”

Sun shrugs. “I mean, I guess so.”

Neptune’s eyes flicker away from Sun. “Look, you should probably go back to sleep.”

“You’re going back to sleep too, right?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Neptune replies, a harsh tone in his voice.

“S-sorry.”

Neptune shakes his head. “It’s fine dude.” He lets out a small breath. “Night.”

Sun nods, laying back on his back. One of his hands comes to rest on his stomach, the Faunus letting out another small breath.

Sun doesn’t dream.

~

“You remembering anything?” Sage asks.

“I think so.” Sun pauses. “I’ve had these dreams, recently. I can’t really remember what happens in them, but I do know that they all involve pain, to some extent. And, when the pain goes away, there’s this voice I hear.”

“Do you recognize the voice?”

“I mean, yeah, it sounds familiar but, I can’t think of who it actually is. All I know is that when they talk to me, all the pain goes away.”

Sage nods. “Yeah, the drink can cause dreams sometimes, and a lot of the time those dreams link back to those memories that you’re missing.”

“I think I’m gonna brew some more of that for you, but I used up the last of one of the herbs one the first batch I gave you.” Sage says. “Scarlet and I were gonna pass by the store to grab a few things, but I’d rather have you come with me.”

Sun looks up then, noticing Neptune stood just inside the main room, something like anger in his expression. Sage looks over, frowning slightly.

“Actually, I was hoping to ask Sun a few questions of my own.” Neptune says. “Alone.”

“Well, that’s not happening anytime soon.” Sage replies.

Scarlet walks closer to Sage, a frown appearing on their face. “Any questions you need to ask Sun can be said in front of us.”

Neptune’s expression darkens somewhat, just barely noticeable to Sun. “I know that, but I still would like to speak to him alone.”

Sage grits his teeth. “Well that’s not happening.”

Scarlet remains silent, merely glaring at Neptune. Neptune tilts his head slightly, eyes briefly flickering away from the pair.

“You’re going to leave, right now.” Neptune looks back up at Sage and Scarlet, a strange tone in his voice. The pair’s bodies relax, their gazes fixed on Neptune. “Understood?”

Sage and Scarlet nod simultaneously. Sage gets up from Sun’s bed, Sun’s eyes fixed on Sage as the pair walk out of their dorm room, their movements somewhat jerky.

Sun looks back over to Neptune, noticing the tension in the man’s expression. Neptune’s eyes remain fixed on the front door once Sage and Scarlet leave, the pair’s footsteps faintly echoing in the hallway.

“Neptune, what did you-”

Neptune’s head whips back to Sun, his eyes wide. “Y-you. You’re going to sleep right now. Understood?”

Sun feels his body relax, a small part of his mind protesting the forced movements. Sun lays back in bed, letting out a small sigh before his eyes close.

~

Sun lets out a breathy sigh, his eyes slowly opening. His eyes widen when he notices Neptune straddling him, a grin on his face.

“Hello Sun.”

Sun starts to move his arms, his eyes flickering up when he hears something thud against the posts of his bed. His mouth falls open slightly when he notices his hands are bound, a small movement of his right foot making him realize that his feet are in the same situation.

“So, technically I told Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum that I had a few questions to ask you, but, frankly, that’s not true at all.” Neptune tilts his head. “Well actually, there’s one thing:”

Neptune leans forward slightly, his face coming to rest a few inches in front of Sun’s. “Do you remember?”

Sun keeps his eyes fixed on Neptune, his brow furrowing slightly.

“This situation has got to be at least somewhat familiar to you.” Neptune says. “The helplessness, the desperate need to run away; it’s familiar, isn’t it?” Neptune leans back, an eyebrow quirked.

Helplessness.

Sun bites at his lip. There’s, something: a hand covering his eyes, words whispered in his ear about a grim future; a cut along his skin, lips pressed against his neck; fire beneath his eyes as burning spreads throughout his body, leaving behind a mark; his sight forcibly taken yet again, the voice in his ear his only anchor; his hands bound as a needle burrows into his skin, a thin piece of thread following in its wake.

He remembers it all.

Sun looks back up to Neptune, noticing the smirk on the man’s face.

“So you do remember.”

“Y-yeah.” Sun replies.

Neptune chuckles. “You’re the first to remember.”

“The first..?”

“Yes, there were people before you.” Neptune replies. “They never remembered. Frankly, none of them even tried to remember. But you,” Neptune slowly shakes his head, letting out a small chuckle. “You tried to remember. You’ve tried and tried, and you did it. You broke through the barriers I put up. And frankly,” Neptune moves forward. “That’s _exactly_ what makes you so interesting to me, Sun Wukong.”

Sun furrows his brow. _Interesting?_

“Though, there’s still one thing that I don’t quite understand,” Neptune leans back slightly, eyes flickering down to his left hand as he idly messes with his nails. “Why haven’t you run away?”

“What?”

“This whole time, I’ve seen the fear and helplessness in your eyes, I’ve seen how badly you didn’t want me to do what I’ve done to you, yet you’ve never run away. No matter what I did to you, you’ve always been frozen in place, always taken what I’ve given without even crying out.” Neptune pauses. “Why?”

Sun bites at his lip. He can’t answer a question that he doesn’t even know the answer to.

“Would you _ever_ run away?” Neptune says. “Even if I did this-”

Neptune grabs at Sun’s neck, the Faunus’ eyes widening. Sun tugs at his arms again, once again met with that same _thud_ against the bed posts. Sun takes in a harsh breath, the air he’s able to grab before his throat is completely constricted moving harshly towards his lungs.

All Sun can do is stare at Neptune’s face, noticing how the man grits his teeth, the expression in his eyes strangely torn between desperation and anger. It doesn’t take very long for Sun to begin to feel dizzy, a desire to sleep overtaking him. His vision becomes fuzzy around the edges, the blur turning from a faint gray to almost black. Sun leans his head back, his eyes slowly closing-

Neptune lets out a breath, his hands unwrapping from Sun’s throat. Sun’s head hits the pillow as the Faunus takes in a breath, immediately coughing. Sun can feel sensation return to him, a strange sense of euphoria coming over him as oxygen flows through his veins once more. Sun’s eyes flicker up to Neptune, a half smile on the boy’s face. Neptune’s mouth is set in a thin line, a hint of exasperation in his expression.

“You know, I could never love you in that way.” Neptune says, breaking the silence that had fallen between the pair.

Confusion appears on the Faunus’ face. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Sun, don’t lie to me.” Neptune grits through his teeth. “I’ve seen how you look at me outside of all of these... things. I can see the affection in your eyes, I can see how much of an effect I have over you when we’re talking about literally anything.”

Sun bites at his lip, his eyes flickering away from Neptune.

Neptune lets out a breath. “I wish I could say sorry, but, I can’t. I don’t feel any sort of resentment or regret about this.”

“This is how I’ve felt even before I met you again.” Neptune adds.

_Again?_ Sun furrows his brow.

“We’ve met before,” Neptune says. “And even if it was an old memory, it’ll always be one that I treasure.”

Sun glances away from Neptune. Before? When-

Sun’s eyes widen. It’d been the last day before he had to move to Mistral. He’d always seen the timid boy with bright blue hair before; there’d often be that jerky shit Carmine in his wake, his cronies often trailing the red-haired moron. He’d never done much about it until he’d seen Carmine harassing that kid. And then, he punched Carmine straight in the nose. It’d been pretty funny at the time, but Sun had been more focused on helping the kid, and soon after he hesitantly said his name-

Sun’s eyes flicker up to Neptune. It’d been Neptune, Neptune Vasilias.

There’s a small smile on Neptune’s face along with some twisted shadow of affection. “So you do remember.”

The door opens, a mumble of conversation between Sage and Scarlet, plastic bags faintly rustling in their hands. Scarlet begins to say a greeting, their face falling when they notice what position Neptune and Sun are in.

“What the fuck is this?” Scarlet eventually asks.

Neptune gets off of Sun, the Faunus lifting up his head. Neptune remains close to Sun’s bed, his hand brushing along one of the chains of Sun’s bonds. Sage starts to move forward, the bags in his hands discarded at the front door. The man’s eyes are ablaze with anger.

“Sage, Scarlet, please!” Sun bites at his lip, his arms tugging against his bonds. “I-it’s not as bad as you think!”

“Sage, Scarlet-” Neptune starts to say in an all too familiar tone.

“Neptune, stop!” Sun can feel something like anger bubble in his stomach as he turns to look at Neptune. Neptune’s mouth falls open, pausing before he bites at his lip.

Sun looks back over to Sage and Scarlet. “Please, don’t freak out.”

“What the fuck are we supposed to do then?” Scarlet yells. “We’ve been suspicious that Neptune has been doing something to you, and what, the one time we have proof we’re not allowed to do jack shit?”

“Scarlet, please, it’s fine-”

“Sun, he’s done something to you.” Sage says, the man’s voice firm. “He’s done something to all of us.”

“Sage, yes, I know, he’s manipulated our minds to some extent,” Sun says. “I remember now, I remember everything he’s done to me. But, even with that, I know that I can say this without being under the influence of Neptune-”

Sun lets out a breath.

“I’m fine with it. All of the shit that Neptune’s done to me within the past month, I’m fine with it.”

Sun looks over to Neptune, whose expression shows the most fear and confusion that the Faunus has ever seen on his face.

“I’m fine with all of it.”

Scarlet’s face softens, and they share a look with Sage before looking over to Neptune.

“Are you going to kill him?” Scarlet asks.

Neptune raises an eyebrow.

“I would ask if you’d ever hurt Sun, but,” Scarlet bites at their lip, nodding towards how Sun is arranged on the bed. “So, would you ever try to kill Sun?”

Neptune pauses, letting out a sigh.

“No. No, I could never do that.”

Scarlet lets out a breath, looking over to Sage. The pair appear to have some sort of conversation through their own expressions, before Scarlet looks back to Neptune.

“Well, I guess we won’t do anything for now.” Scarlet says.

Sun feels something like relief flow through his veins.

“If Sun is... okay with this, then we won’t do anything.” Scarlet adds.

“But if you escalate shit, or we catch in the middle of this sort of shit again, we’re doing something about this.” Sage chimes in. “Whether we tell Ozpin, or do something ourselves.”

Scarlet merely nods.

“Got it?” Sage says.

Neptune nods.

“Good.” Sage glances over to Sun. “You really are okay with this, Sun?”

“Yeah,” Sun replies. “Why would I ever lie to you about this sort of thing?”

Sage lets out a breath, glancing back over to Scarlet.

“Alright.” Scarlet eventually says. “Well, we’re gonna put away this stuff, and when we get back don’t be like,” They wave their hand, a disgruntled look on their face.

Neptune nods. Scarlet shakes their head, glancing up at Sage before the pair walk out of the main room. Neptune watches the pair walk away, letting out a small breath before turning back to Sun’s bonds. He swiftly takes the bonds off of Sun’s arms, the Faunus sitting up as Neptune moves down to Sun’s feet. Sun rubs idly at his wrists, watching Neptune undo the bonds around Sun’s feet. Neptune throws the bonds over to his bed, glancing back over to Sun.

“You’re telling the truth?” Neptune asks, breaking the silence.

Sun merely nods.

Neptune bites at his lip. “Because, I can leave. Just as quickly as I appeared in your life, I can disappear, if that’s what you want.”

Sun’s face falls, the Faunus reaching out a hand to grab at Neptune’s wrist. “No, don’t-” The Faunus bites at his lip, letting go of Neptune’s wrist. “Don’t leave.”

Neptune slowly nods. “So, you’re sure then? You know what our relationship’s gonna be like, all of the hardships associated with it?”

“Yeah.” Sun says. “And I can handle it dude, I promise.”

Neptune flashes a small smile, his eyes flickering away from Sun.

“Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And of course, you can find all of my writing on Tumblr [here](http://oceannanotoceania.tumblr.com/writing-masterpost).

**Author's Note:**

> So, I hope you guys are liking this! It's definitely one of the darkest things I've written thus far (let's blame the Scarefest Challenge for getting me into writing horror, shall we?), and just horror as a whole hasn't been my domain until quite recently. Hopefully I'll be posting new chapters of this sometime between Thursday and Saturday (kind of broad buuuut oh well).
> 
> Also, if you'd like to check out my other writing, in addition to the stuff on here, I've also got stuff on my [Tumblr.](http://oceannanotoceania.tumblr.com/) Leave me a request or two if you'd like, I'll potentially get to them fairly quickly. :3


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